Squibb Park's Makeover, and More Changes Coming

The transformation of Squibb Park in Brooklyn Heights was completed last October but this is the first time we've been inside since the restoration (the kids from P.S. 8 have been using it as their playground, but not during the summer).

This is a good time to visit Squibb, especially if you're a skateboarder. The park has been beautifully restored. The old cracked pavement, two wading pools/ sprinklers and rusty swing set have been replaced with a skateboard park, benches and new landscaping.

The skateboarding area looks out over the river and there is an attendant there in the summer for a couple of hours in the afternoon.

Big changes are ahead, however. The Brooklyn Eagle reports that an architect was at Squibb Monday preparing for the planned Phase 2 park renovations. These include a wheelchair-accessible ramp from the street to the park with a less severe slope that the existing ramp, and a bridge over Furman Street that would connect Squibb Park to Brooklyn Bridge Park.

According to the Eagle these will be constructed off site then installed next summer.

The wheelchair accessible ramp into the park will probably eat into the park's surface area at the north end of the park due to the less severe angle. Guess this can't be avoided.

The bridge to Brooklyn Bridge Park will be situated at Squibb's south end.

Remember the big cement pool/sprinkler area? It was fun for the kids to play in years ago (we're told it was built in the 1940s?) but the Parks Department neglected it for so long it cracked and clogged, and they never fixed it. This is what it looked like in 2008 after heavy rains.

Photos by MK Metz

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